| If you are on a Buddhist tour to India, you would most | | | | his sermon while the second one was erected by |
| probably like to have information on all the Buddhist | | | | Indian emperor Ashoka to enshrine the relics of the |
| sites of the country, be it cities or individual temple | | | | Buddha. |
| monastery or even museums. You would also like to | | | | Kushinagar, the third sacred site where the Buddha is |
| plan out a best possible travel plan for yourself | | | | believed to have achieved mahaparinirvana, is also |
| depending upon your budget and time. A lesser time | | | | located in Uttar Pradesh. |
| and budget would require you to plan out more | | | | The Mahaparinirvana temple and the Nirvana stupa |
| meticulously so that each and every moment of your | | | | are the highlights here. Varanasi can serve as the |
| trip is as fruitful as you would like it to be while a long | | | | nearest airport to reach both Sarnath and Kushinagar. |
| duration of visit would give you an opportunity to | | | | While Sarnath is pretty close to Varanasi, Kushinagar |
| explore even the relatively unknown Buddhist sites. But, | | | | is more than 250 km away. If you are travelling by |
| long or short, whatever be your time period, for | | | | train, Gorakhpur, approximately 53 km away, is the |
| planning out your trip, you would require information on | | | | closest one to reach Kushinagar. While in Uttar |
| the Buddhist sites of the country in detail - where are | | | | Pradesh, you can also explore other Buddhist sites like |
| they located and how to visit them? | | | | Sravasti, Kaushambi and Sankisa. |
| Let's give you information on some of these sites | | | | States of Jammu Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh with |
| which you can visit on your trip. For anyone desirous | | | | their number of monasteries are also worth visiting for |
| of exploring Buddhism in India, it is inevitable to leave | | | | Buddhist tourists. It is not as if the entire state is |
| out the most important sacred sites - Bodhgaya, | | | | influenced by Buddhism, but a certain area definitely is. |
| Sarnath and Kushinagar. Starting off with Bodhgaya, it | | | | In Jammu Kashmir, the Ladakh region and in Himachal |
| is the place of enlightenment or the place where the | | | | Pradesh, the Lahaul Spiti region are where you can |
| prince Siddharth became 'aware' and came to be | | | | see the influence of Buddhism most. Himachal Pradesh |
| known as the Buddha. The Mahabodhi complex here, | | | | is also home to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the |
| with the Mahabodhi temple and bodhi tree under which | | | | Dalai Lama and his followers. Post Chinese invasion of |
| Siddhartha attained enlightenment, is a world heritage | | | | Tibet way back in 1950s, the Dalai Lama and his |
| site and immensely revered by Buddhists all over the | | | | followers made Mc Leodganj in Himachal their home. |
| world. A number of monasteries have been | | | | You can get a glimpse of Tibetan Buddhism by paying |
| established by monks and government of different | | | | a visit to Mc Leodganj. The famous monasteries of |
| countries in this small town of Bodhgaya. Amongst | | | | the state include the Tabo, Kye, Dhakar and Shashur. |
| them are the Chinese temple and monastery, the Thai | | | | As for the famous monasteries in Jammu Kashmir are |
| monastery and Buddhist monastery of Bhutanese. | | | | concerned, they include Hemis, Spituk, Lamayuru, |
| Bodhgaya is located in the state of Bihar which is also | | | | Thiksey and Alchi. |
| home to a number of other Buddhist sites. You can | | | | Manali can be used to reached both Lahaul Spiti region |
| either reach Gaya (close to Bodhgaya) or Patna and | | | | in Himachal Pradesh and Leh-Ladakh in Jammu |
| explore the rest of the destination from thereon. Rajgir, | | | | Kashmir. Which time of the year you are visiting is also |
| Nalanda, Vaishali are few of the other sites which you | | | | important since the route from Manali is only open |
| can pay a visit to while visiting Bodhgaya. | | | | between June to November depending upon climatic |
| Uttar Pradesh is the state where the second sacred | | | | conditions. Before making the trip, it is advisable to find |
| site, Sarnath, is located. After attaining enlightenment in | | | | out the latest situation of the route. Leh has an aiport |
| Bodhgaya, Lord Buddha moved to Sarnath and gave | | | | which is connected to Delhi by daily flights. |
| his first preaching to five ascetic friends who had | | | | Like the ones mentioned above, there are a number of |
| earlier accompanied him in his wanderings. The | | | | other sites that can be visited in India. You just need to |
| Dhamekh stupa, the Dharamrajika stupa, the Ashokan | | | | make a bit of research and the number of Buddhist |
| Pillar are few of the attractions for you here. The first | | | | sites you will come across will be completely to your |
| of these marks the spot where Lord Buddha gave out | | | | satisfaction. |